Hooks-Epstein Galleries proudly opens its 2023-2024 Art Season with an exhibition of drawings by Houston-based emerging artist, Angel Castelán. "De Azul Celeste" will open on Saturday, September 9, 2023, with an Artist Talk commencing at 5:30PM and a Reception for the Artist from 6:00PM – 8:00PM. The show will continue through October 14, 2023.

Artist Statement: Sourcing imagery from my everyday life, "De Azul Celeste" explores the interplay between queer experiences, the creation of personal myths, and the beauty found within the mundane. Capturing these quiet moments and everyday emotions allows me to find authenticity and vulnerability unconstrained by the exhausting influence of culture and society. Through intimate colored pencil drawings, "De Azul Celeste" allows for not only introspection and catharsis but the humanization of queer life. - Angel Castelán

Our world is full of stimuli. Our experiences of these sensations and how we perceive them is unique to each individual. The environments and situations we find ourselves in are collected, translated, and stored as memories. These memories, of people, events, and emotions, are then recalled, potentially countless times, and modified.

Through painting, drawing, and sculpture, Traces examines both external and internal forces that influence the human experience and what we make of them. Peter Broz and Charles VanMeter focus on the external, specifically the life-death cycle and the duality of nature. Angel Castelán and Kevin Lopez investigate the internal, depicting experiences of isolation and states of mind.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The Big Show is an ambitious open-call juried competition of artists practicing within a 100-mile radius of Lawndale that reflects our commitment to supporting local and regional artists at various stages in their career.

ABOUT THE JUROR

The juror for The Big Show 2023 is Dr. Kanitra Fletcher.

Raised in Houston, Dr. Fletcher worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston prior to her current role as Associate Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. While in Houston, she oversaw the presentation of major traveling exhibitions such as Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power and Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture and recently organized the U.S. tour of Afro-Atlantic Histories. Dr. Fletcher’s previous museum experience includes the Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Museum of Modern Art, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Since 2013, Dr. Fletcher has curated the video art program for Landmarks, the public art program of the University of Texas at Austin. She received a PhD in History of Art from Cornell University.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Kaima Akarue, Tyler Allen, Ammar Alobaidi, Kristen Anton, Shawn Artis, Miguel Avila, Melissa Aytenfisu, Curt Baldwin, Francesca Bayegan, Hannah Bender, Layla Bispo, Christoper Blay, Ashley Blazer, Lesley Bodzy, Gail Borden, Brittani Broussard, Valerie Burkes, Celia Butler, Glen Carpenter, Angel Castelán, Claire Chauvin, Angela Chen, Sheng Kuan Chung, Pete Coleman, Meg Cook, Crystal Coulter, Austin Cullen, Charlie Don’t, Fatima Donaldson, Kathy Drago, Nicole Durham, Abbie Edmonson, Karen Eisele, Carol Gerhardt, Vanessa Godden, Michael Godoy, David Gray, Alvin Griffin, Morgan Grisby, Peter Gynd, Sibylle Hagmann, Eric Hartley, Peter Healy, Guadalupe Hernandez, Sherry Tseng Hill, Michael Horvath, Tina Hsu, Taylor Hummel, Aisha Imdad, Cedric Ingram, Maggie Jensen, Heather L. Johnson, Jeanne Jones, Cynthia Kagay, Linda Simien Kelly, Charlie King, Cindee Travis Klement, Daniela Koontz, Maryam Lavaf, Tiffany Henghui Lee, C.M. Lewis, Wyatt Little, Melody Locke, Kevin Lopez, Sarah Luna, Elias Lytton, Anne Mabry, Katia Machado, Gabriel Martinez, Deangelo McMahon, Matt Messinger, Austin Miller, Paige Moore, Shavon Morris, Deborah Morris, Zack Murray, Narvell Neves, Marc Furi, Lay-Ing Oji, Carolina Otero, Anthony Pabillano, Bruce Park, Jin Park, Graciela Paz, Hugo Perez, Naomi Peterson, Caroline Philippone, André Ramos-Woodard, Trish Ramsay, Ellen Ray, Winifred Riser, Hilda Rueda, Radu Runcanu, Caroline Ryan, Wolfgang Schindler, Tina Schwartz, Jean Shon, Sajeela Siddiq, Luc Sokolowski, William Soller, Rose Stern, Mich Stevenson, Kamila Szczesna, Leili Tavallaei, Tommy Taylor, Patricia Taylor, Becki van Compernolle, Nina Wang, Syalisa Winata, Carolina Yanez, Bibi Zambrano, and Peso Zapata

On View May 14 - June 4, 2023

Curator Statement:

When It’s Quiet features 50 emerging creatives from all over the world, exploring mediums such as painting, photography, drawing, illustration and more. The theme behind this exhibition is the idea of solitude. To think of silence or quietness is to think of solitude, perhaps even loneliness. This collection of works displays the dualities between our perception of solitude and quiet moments. Through these mediums displayed viewers can witness the thoughts, imaginations, and identities of the artists. There is a contrast of colorful, vibrant works along with monochromatic works that bring a balance to what When it’s Quiet can mean for anyone.

https://dorecollective.com/

We are Houston is a juried exhibition of Chicano and Latinx art. Presented by Advocates of a Latino Museum of Cultural and Visual Arts & Archive Complex in Houston (ALMAAHH), The artists in We are Houston were selected by María C. Gaztambide, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Public Art of the University of Houston System, and Gilbert Vicario, Chief Curator, Perez Art Museum Miami. The works in the exhibition span diverse mediums and conceptual touchpoints that demonstrate the wealth of artistic excellence in contemporary art in Houston. Abstraction, figuration, tradition, and innovation are exemplified through 65 artworks by 33 artists living, working or originating in Greater Houston. Loosely defined themes—such as New Vernaculars; Places and Journeying; Life In-Between; Containment, Migration, Trauma; Gender, Self, Fluidity; Resiliency; Remaking and Making Do; and Earth and Cosmos—tie together this incredibly complex body of work.

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About the Exhibitor

Advocates of a Latino Museum of Cultural and Visual Arts & Archive Complex in Houston, Harris County (ALMAAHH) is a new organization dedicated to the creation of a Houston-area cultural and visual arts complex that will showcase, preserve, and expand Latino arts. The complex would support Latino culture and visual arts by creating opportunities to grow locally and nationally as well as helping to elevate Houston as a national hub of Latino culture.

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Artists

Wood Fancher Anthony
Darwin Arévalo
Julia Barbosa Landois
Beatriz Bellorín
Carolina Borja
Angel Castelán*
Paula Córdoba
Sandra De La Rosa*
Luisa Duarte
Gustavo Eduardo
Theresa Escobedo
Ibsen Espada
Nela Garzón*
Suzy González
Valerie González
Celea Guevara
Guadalupe Hernández
Marcos Hernández
Saúl Hernández
Marisa Heymach Cigarroa
Alejandro Macías
Gabriel Martínez
Arielle Masson
Delilah Montoya
Carlos Ocando
Carolina Otero
Susan Plum
Gladys Poorte
Viri Ramos*
Gerardo Rosales*
Henry G. Sánchez
Alexander Squier
Suzy Villarruel

*2023 ALMAAHH - MFAH Studio Visual Artist

a group exhibition featuring artists from Box13 Artspace

curated by Bianca Alvarez

SA to HOU | HOU to SA is a two-city art exhibition exchange between Clamp Light Studios & Gallery, an artist-run studio and exhibition space based in San Antonio and Box 13 Artspace, an artist-run studio and exhibition space in Houston. While close to 200 miles separate the two artist groups, the common goal is to support their fellow artists and share their community’s creative output.  The first phase of the exchange features works by Box13 Artspace artists at Clamp Light Studios & Gallery March 10 – April 8, curated by Bianca Alvarez.  Phase two of the exchange features works by current and former Clamp Light resident artists at Box13 Artspace May 13 – June 17, curated by Rosa Ana Orlando.

Curator Statement:

If You Could Read My Mind features artworks—from drawing to video—by twelve Houston-based artists that were produced during the height of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Although created in sequestered studio practices, the selected works collectively explore themes surrounding isolation, introspection, and identity through images of nature and organic or bodily references. However, a tension is palpable. Where images of our physical world may conjure picturesque or idealized scenes; the presentation of these artworks subverts that notion to speak to the relationship between psychological and natural landscapes. Here, those theoretical borders blur to implore reflections on memory, purpose, and belonging, while emphasizing our own resilience when viewed within the context from which these artworks emerged.

Artists include: Peter Broz, Celia Butler, Joshua Caleb, Angel Castelán,  Ahra Cho, Chelsea Clarke, Sandra de la Rosa, Kevin Lopez, Elias Lytton, Venessa Monokian, Sydney Parks, Charles VanMeter

Solo Show at Houston Community College’s Spring Branch Gallery

JUROR'S STATEMENT

“This year, The Big Show brings together 81 works by 38 artists. On the ground level, the artists consider their surroundings— the city and land around them. Some works relate to urban infrastructure, while others reflect on the landscape. Works also examine how we live–what shapes our daily lives; what is the fabric that brings us together through objects, life experiences, work, or play. Leaving behind the realities of the world, we are led to Lawndale’s upstairs space. We enter a dreamscape. The works on the second floor are centered on dreams, fantasy, imagination, play and desire. There has been much suffering in recent times. The artists in this exhibition reveal the conditions of our struggles, but also remind us of resilience, need for reflection, and visions of a world to come.”

— Daisy Nam, The Big Show 2022 Juror

AWARDEES

An award amount of $5,000 was divided between six artists: Rontaye Butler, Paula Córdoba, Sibylle Hagmann, Chenlu Hou, Sophia Longoria, and Kamila Szczesna.

FEATURED ARTISTS IN THE BIG SHOW 2022

Patrycja Adamowicz, Charis Ammon, Jen Bootwala, Rontaye Butler, Angel Castelan, Lindy Chambers, Chelsea Clarke, Paula Córdoba, daniel coreas, Cynthia Jamileth Giron, Vanessa Gonzalez, Sibylle Hagmann, Jihye Han, DR3K a.k.a. JP Hartman, Guadalupe Hernandez, Saúl Hernández-Vargas, Chenlu Hou, Sumin Hwang, Disha Khakheria, Erica Reed Lee, Ha Na Lee & James Hughes, C.M. Lewis, Sophia Longoria, Max Manning, Gabriel Martinez, Clinton Millsap, Demi Mixon, Brian Murcia, Quentin Pace, Julia Rossel, J.R. Roykovich, Jessica Simorte, Kamila Szczesna, Jesus Trevino, Irene Valentin, Charles VanMeter, Lucio Vasquez

ABOUT ANGEL CASTELÁN
The works of Angel Castelán depict a series of ordinary moments that could be a snapshot into anyone’s daily life. However, looking further in, the work is a dialogue in itself, which speaks on identity and personal relationships. Castelán, who is a gay, Latinx male, sources his own life as reference material for the prints, drawings, and paintings in his exhibition, entitled Echoes. He depicts the authenticity and vulnerability of these intimate interactions that are reserved for private moments or settings and are unconstrained by cultural and societal influences.

Angel Castelán earned his MFA in Painting from the University of Houston (UH) in 2019. He was a Teaching Fellow at UH from fall of 2017 through spring of 2019. He has had solo exhibitions in Houston including To Be Honest at Project Space Gallery in 2019 and Drawn Superstition at the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library in 2017. Also, in 2019, Castelán participated in the group exhibitions Hombres Sinceros at the Multicultural Education and Counseling Through the Arts organization (MECA) and UH School of Art 41st Annual Thesis Exhibition at the Blaffer Art Museum (Houston). In December of 2018, he was featured in VoyageHouston’s Art and Life with Angel Castelán.
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ABOUT SUNNI FORCIER
In her exhibition, Collection of Whispers, Sunni Forcier examines each piece as a specimen under her personal lens for analysis, treating the creation of her work as an investigative process. She works intuitively, allowing the process and the materials to guide her decisions. Forcier’s impulse to take this exploratory approach comes from a litany of health issues and other unexpected circumstances within her family that have led her to delve into themes of memory, time, history, and impermanence. The works in her exhibition—a collection of books, which Forcier has dismantled and incorporated found objects and seemingly mundane illustrations into—speaks on the larger subject of curiosity opening the door to a personal history.

Sunni Forcier earned her MFA in Photography from the University of Houston in 2019. She was a Teaching Fellow at UH from fall of 2017 through spring of 2019. In 2016, Forcier had a solo exhibition, Investigating Luminosity, at Third Space (UH). In 2019, she participated in the group exhibition the 41st Masters of Fine Art Thesis Show at the Blaffer Art Museum (Houston). In 2015, Sunni Forcier was published in Photographer’s Forum, Best of College Photography.

Artist Talks May 18, 2019 from 2-4pm at MECA.

MECA is pleased to present "Hombres Sinceros" — a group exhibition curated by Jimmy Castillo and Theresa Escobedo via MantecaHTX for Houston’s Spring of Latino Art and in conjunction with Latino Art Now! "Hombres Sinceros," the last exhibition in this Open Call series, will open with a public reception on Saturday, May 11, 2019, from 2 - 4 PM, and is complemented by an artists’ presentations and literary readings, "Hombres Sinceros: Art + Lit", on May 18, 2019, from 2 - 4 PM.

Featured artists in this exhibition include:
Angel Castelán
El Edu
Simon Gonzalez
Marcos Hernández
Ibraim Do Nascimento Santos
Alexander Squier, with Edwin Terrell
Saul Hernandez-Vargas
Erick Zambrano

Artists for this exhibition were selected via the first-ever open call organized by MantecaHTX, a registry & directory of Houston Latinx creatives. The artists included in "Hombres Sinceros," in particular, consider shared cultural heritage and transgenerational inheritance through art-making.

"Hombres Sinceros" takes its name from a poem, "Yo Soy Un Hombre Sincero," by Cuban freedom fighter and national hero, José Martí, and is presented in conjunction with Yo Soy Un Hombre Sincero - A Latin Chamber Music Concert, a MECA presents production by percussionist Craig Hauschildt and violinist Jackson Guillen.


This project is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

This will be at the Project Space Gallery (4th floor of the Fine Arts building at UH).

Duo show by second year graduate painters Angel Castelán and Erin Carty.

Artist Reception: Wednesday October 25th from 5:30-7:30pm at the Third Space Gallery at the University of Houston (3rd floor of the School of Art). 

Collectively, the work explores the relationships between people (be it through multiple figures or having the viewer take the place of the painter) and the space they exist in. By depicting moments of varying intimacy, it allows the viewer to step into the lives of strangers and insert themselves into very intimate moments. Each artist presents his or her take on interpersonal relationships through the depiction of moments captured from their daily lives. Through these depictions, the artists are able to showcase to their viewers commonalities between the viewers, the artworks and the artists.

6-9pm at the Blaffer Art Museum. All studios will also be open, come check out more of my work on the 4th floor at the graduate painting studios!

Opens on the 3rd
Artist Reception on the 6th
Open during the Masters Thesis Show on the 7th
Closing on the 8th

Zoya Tommy Gallery is pleased to present Open Your Eyes a group exhibition of emerging artists. Up and coming artists Rachel Fischer, Eric Ockrassa, Margaret McMillan and Angel Castelán will come together to display a collection of their works. In addition, the gallery will host a solo-exhibition, entitled Connected for talented artist Kay Tasuji in a separate room.

All of the works included in the show are truly unique in style and philosophy. The show will include quirky sculptures by Rachel Fischer, colorful compositions by Eric Ockrassa, narrative sculptures by Margaret McMillan and provocative portraits by Angel Castelán. Kay Tasuji will showcase her surreal drawings inspired by her Middle Eastern background.

Eric Ockrassa’s background in graphic design shines through in his marvelously colorful modern compositions. Ockrassa is inspired by the complex systems that help to shape society. The infinite organizations that are constantly used but rarely given further investigation are the foundation for his work. Eric Ockrassa has an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Houston. He has exhibited at numerous galleries in Houston including G Gallery, 4411 Montrose Gallery, and the Lawndale Art Center, Houston.

Rachel Fischer is new to Zoya Tommy Gallery; she is a multi-media artist currently residing in Denton, Texas. Her captivating small-scale pieces exude absurdity and whimsy. Using plastic appliance parts, cosmetic sponges, horsehair, and other humble foundations, she interprets new forms that defy their material components.

Fischer’s use of painting and sculpture explores the nature of object hood in art, as it relates to America’s cultural obsession with materiality. Fischer earned her MFA in Drawing and Painting at the University of North Texas. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions at the local and national level and has had several solo-exhibitions in Texas. Most recently she co-founded the artists studios and creative space Brick Haus Collective, which received a 2015 Nasher Sculpture Center Artist Microgrant.

Margaret McMillan’s work explores narrative in sculpture, from implied to literal text. She draws deeply from the natural world but is also drawn to the potential of fantasy and worlds unencumbered by the strictures of reality. Blending the two she creates new topographies in installation, as well as objects and creatures that exist just outside the realm of the familiar. Each piece invites the viewer to engage with this narrative potential and further develop the story themselves. The features of an imaginary world need not exist only in the imagination. “I am exploring and you can come too” says McMillan. She employs a range of materials, including traditional ceramics to common household goods and found objects. Margaret McMillan received her MFA from the University of Houston in May 2015.

Angel Castelán is the youngest artist appearing in the exhibition. He is currently a BFA candidate at the University of Houston pursing a degree in Painting. Castelán brings a fresh perspective to classical portraiture. A socio-political critique of culture radiates from his paintings.